


Burnished

by bjrit92



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Reader-Insert, Soulmates, slight destiel, wing!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 18:09:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16289354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjrit92/pseuds/bjrit92
Summary: You hunted with the Winchesters on occasion. One memorable one (that you weren't inclined to repeat) included Hell Hounds. They'd burnished your glasses with Holy Fire to assist with the case. Hell Hounds were the only things you could see with burnished glasses...right?





	Burnished

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I’ve had this thought for a while and I’ve contemplated turning it into a longer fic. We will see if that comes to anything. For now, here we go! I hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know if you’d actually be interested in a longer story! It harkens waaaay back to season 8, but ultimately it takes place in the present.

You’d never hunted a hellhound before. Sam and Dean had called you in for backup. Apparently they’d tracked one to your town. They wouldn’t tell you why they were hunting a creature of the damned, but the way they spoke about it and the determined yet somber set to their jaws when you met up with them in person said a lot. You’d hunted with them a time or two, mainly when they were in your neck of the woods, as they were now. Hunting with the brothers was both thrilling and completely exhausting. They attracted trouble like magnets and the simplest hunts were often anything but in-and-out. Things were rarely what they seemed with them and complications seemed to snowball. They were reliable, though, and incredibly skilled at their profession. The three of you had grown close over the years. They’d offered for you to come live in the bunker with them in Kansas, but you preferred your small apartment and hunting solo.

The hellhound hunt was unlike anything you’d imagined or expected it to be. Ignoring your protests they’d taken your glasses straight off of your face and—of all things—set fire to them. As Dean held them in the flames, Sam explained to you the correlation between holy fire and the ability to see ethereal creatures that were invisible to the naked human eye. You watched them burnish two pairs of glasses for themselves as well.

Sam was the one to kill the beast. It had almost come to blows between the brothers about who would be the one to do the deed. You didn’t understand why it was such an important decision, but you’d learned over the years not to question too much into what the Winchester brothers were caught up in, lest you get dragged into their world of nightmares and apocalypses. You enjoyed being a simple hunter. Werewolves and Vampires and Ghosts were your bread and butter. You would leave all of the outlandish, overwhelming demons and angels drama to the two brothers you were working with.

Speaking of, you’d gotten a hell of a shock not long after the hunt when you’d run into the boys again a year later and they’d had their angelic third wheel tagging along. Past the occasional fae flitting by, you’d forgotten over time about the special nature of your glasses and when they’d showed up on your doorstep with a man with gigantic, ash-colored wings protruding from his shoulder blades you’d nearly had a heart attack. Castiel had turned out to be a loyal friend and enjoyable to be around. You quite liked the angel.

You bought a new pair of glasses, though.

A pair of glasses that apparently had grown legs and wandered off somewhere. You were turning your apartment inside-out trying to find the glasses you’d managed to successfully lose. The boys would be here soon and you couldn’t afford not to see properly. Where the hell were they? While digging through the drawer in your nightstand, you happened across the case holding the old pair you’d replaced. It had been a few years since the hellhound hunt. Does holy fire wear off? Probably not.

bzzz

Looking at your phone, you read:

Dean W.: ETA in 30. U ready?

You glanced at the case in your hands before typing out a message back to him.

Just about. Any angels with u?

Dean’s reply was almost instant. Sam must be the one driving.

Dean W.: 2 actually. Y?

You sighed, resigning yourself to your fate.

Can’t find my good glasses. Only got the burnished ones from the hellhound thing a few years ago. Just wanna know what to prepare for.

You pocketed your phone before shoving the last couple of items in your duffle. You used the last few minutes before their arrival to put your apartment back into some semblance of order, hoping desperately that the act would somehow turn up the glasses you’d missed while tearing the room apart. No such luck, and soon the boys were knocking on your front door. You sucked in a breath, preparing yourself for a weekend with not one but two angels. Castiel’s wings were a beautiful thing to behold once you’d gotten used to their presence, but that was years ago and you knew you’d have to adjust to seeing them again. Not to mention the new angel’s wings you’d be subjected to.

You followed Sam out of your building and toward the familiar Impala sitting in the lot. Dean and his two companions started to exit the car to greet you as you approached. You ran straight to Dean and threw your arms around him the same as you’d just done to Sam. Those two had found a special place in your heart over the years. You heard two more car doors open and you steeled yourself before turning around to greet Castiel and the other angel, whom Sam had informed you was named Gabriel.

The sight before you knocked the breath out of your lungs. Castiel had explained all of those years ago why seeing his wings affected you so much: they weren’t meant for human sight beyond special circumstances. They could be a bit overwhelming. Angels on earth kept their wings tucked into a separate plane of existence, invisible and intangible to humanity. His wings had an almost holographic quality to them. You could see them with your glasses, but if you reached out to brush the feathers, your fingers went right through them. You supposed it made sense. Being invisible wasn’t much help if they were still bumping into things and getting in the way on this plane. They were as beautiful as you remembered and you let out a shakey breath as you took them in. Dean must have forewarned him of your predicament, because your friend was giving you an apologetic smile as he watched you. When you’d gotten your breathing under control, he held his arms out to you. You grinned at him and hugged him tightly. There was a comforting quality about the trench coat-clad man that you’d missed. Your eyes kept darting back to his wings over his shoulder. You didn’t know how Dean did it, seeing them every day.

“You get used to it” he had said the first time you’d seen them. He told you of the first time he’d seen them, in the barn with the lights going haywire as Castiel made his grand-dramatic entrance into the man’s life. “They’ve never been intimidating to me. They’re grandiose but they’re an extension of Cas and they’re more comforting than awe-inspiring or threatening, I guess.” You supposed it made sense. It wouldn’t do much good for an angel’s soul-mate to be constantly terrified of them.

You felt a hand on your shoulder. You started to turn, but the owner held you in place with surprising strength. A voice you didn’t recognize, but sounded like warm honey, started speaking. You could tell the other angel was feeling awkward with the situation.

“Uh, So. Before you turn around, I should warn you. Cassie here is a regular old angel, so his wings are kinda normal.” Gabriel ignored his younger brother’s indignant huff at his words. You saw his feathers ruffle as if to prove they’re anything but average. Gabriel continued on, “I’m actually an archangel. So, uh…my wings…aren’t. Normal, that is. They’re a bit…more?” You couldn’t turn around but you could practically see him scratching the back of his neck in discomfort. “I just…I…don’t be scared of me, please. I don’t think a human has ever seen my wings before.”

You nodded your assent and you felt the grip on your shoulder release. You took in a breath and slowly turned to see the other man, taller than you but shorter than Castiel, golden hair and eyes like sunshine through whiskey. You were right about his hand on his neck, and he regarded you cautiously, waiting for your reaction. You let your eyes drift upward to his—

“Holy shit.”

Six. There were six. And they were massive. He was trying to tuck them into himself, obviously shy. It didn’t do much to decrease their presence, though. They looked like spun gold. They glittered as though made of metal and the sun reflecting off of each feather gave them the illusion of emitting light themselves. The closer you looked, you saw hints of amber and tawny and a couple of colors you didn’t have words for. They were…warm. Each wing had to be at least ten feet long and six feet tall. They radiated heat. You knew you were gaping like a fish and you concentrated to bring yourself back into focus. You realized with embarrassment that you’d started unconsciously reaching your hand upward toward them, as if to touch them. Gabriel was watching your face and your hand cautiously, obviously relieved that you weren’t running screaming for the hills. Interestingly, you weren’t frightened of his wings at all, even with them being so much more than Castiel’s.

You brought your eyes down to meet his. His eyebrows raised in silent question and you beamed at him. You saw some of the tension lift from his shoulders as you smiled.

“Gabriel, your wings are incredible. I apologize for causing you discomfort, but I am truly honored to be able to see them, because…wow,” you finished rather lamely. Gabriel blushed and grinned at your praise. You couldn’t stop the thought of how endearing the blush made him look, more like a schoolboy than an almighty, ancient being.

“Well let me borrow those glasses I wanna see these ‘incredible’ wings!” Dean blurted out to your left, reaching toward you.

“Dean, don’t!” Sam protested.

“Dean-o you might want to rethink that—“

“Aw, come on, I see Castiel’s all the time, I can handle your wings.” Dean stopped beside you, hand held out expectantly. You looked toward Gabriel. It was his decision. Gabriel rolled his eyes in exasperation before nodding at you. He winked and it made your heart stutter a bit. Wings or not, he was an attractive man and charming to boot.

Sighing, you took off your glasses and handed them to Dean, who was grinning triumphantly. You watched him put on the glasses and suddenly the color ran out of his face as he blanched.

“Dean? Dean, breathe!” Castiel reprimanded his mate, reaching forward and putting his hands on his shoulders. Dean took in a shuddering breath and struggled to regain his composure, reaching up with a shaking hand and pulling the glasses off of his face.

“Y-yeah. Those are…real nice, Gabriel. Nice-good. Good wings.”

You were perplexed as you watched Dean. He started to hand the glasses back to you, but Sam’s hand intercepted them. He looked questioningly at Gabriel, obviously seeking permission to sate his own curiosity. You heard him sigh dramatically.

“Oh, go ahead Samsquatch.” He mumbled something about monkeys at a zoo before Sam put on the glasses, too. To his credit, having not seen angel wings at all before, he held his composure rather well. He was seeing not only Gabriel’s, but Castiel’s wings for the first time and you could see the muscle twitching in his now-pale face as he clenched his jaw, attempting to take them both in. Like his brother, he seemed to have stopped breathing for a moment.

“Wow,” He squeaked out in a much-too-high voice. “You both…yeah. Wings. Nice.”

What on earth? Sure, your first time seeing wings ever had been overwhelming, but it was like they both were having trouble even looking at Gabriel’s wings. You couldn’t stop admiring them, yourself. They were mammoth, but easily the most gorgeous things you’d ever seen. You glanced at Gabriel’s face. His arm had found the back of his neck again, but he looked more amused than uncomfortable. You noticed he kept sneaking glances at you and when he caught your eye he winked again and rolled his eyes in the direction of the boys. You noticed he wasn’t bothering to try and pull his wings inward anymore, either. He had them stretching out above him as if showing them off. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’d done that just to mess with the boys. Your eyes swept from one end of his wingspan to the other end before landing back on his face. You met his eyes, which were transfixed on you, an unreadable expression on his face. His mouth had dropped open slightly and his eyes seemed to be burning into you, their look was so intense. You cinched your brow at him, confused at this sudden change in him. You felt a hand tap your shoulder and you turned away to take what Sam was offering out to you.

Your glasses.

Oh My Chuck.

Your head snapped back to the angel in front of you as you slowly put your glasses back on, his intense expression coming into clearer focus.

You suddenly became aware of the silence as your three other companions watched you and Gabriel.

“Uh…everything okay?” Dean asked, concerned at the silent exchange happening between you and the archangel. You floundered for a moment, your mouth opening and closing, trying to find words, but you were having trouble making sound. You and Gabriel hadn’t broken eye contact and the corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitched upward as he responded for you.

“Boys…things just got a lot more interesting.”


End file.
